School Board To Appeal Ruling That Banned Prayer At Meetings
CHINO (CBSLA.com) — A school board voted Monday night in favor of appealing a judge's ruling that banned prayer at meetings.
After the 3-2 vote in favor of moving forward to appeal the decision, some at the Chino Valley Unified School District meeting applauded.
"I think the Lord is on our side," said Jay Reed. "We have to fight. We've got to stand up as being Christians. We've got to live our biblical values."
But not everyone agrees.
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A federal judge had banned the school board from praying before meetings. Some parents had complained the meetings were being turned into sermons.
"If they want to further their religious beliefs, they should be in a private religious school and then they can further their religious beliefs but not in a public school setting," said Sandra Rose.
The school board president himself was on the hot seat last summer after he went on a rant about how marriage should be between a man and a woman and about vaccinations.
CBS2 tried to get a comment from Andrew Cruz, but he declined to speak.
RELATED: Chino Valley Unified School District Target Of Suit Over Prayer At Board Meetings
Robert Tyler, the attorney who will represent the school board for free in its appeal, issued a statement that said in part:
"Our appeal to the 9th Circuit will focus on the issue of whether a school district can continue with the long tradition of allowing a ceremonial prayer at the beginning of school board meetings."